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Tag: Science

  • NASA begins practice countdown for first moonshot with astronauts in over 50 years

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    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA began a two-day practice countdown Saturday leading up to the fueling of its new moon rocket, a crucial test that will determine when four astronauts blast off on a lunar flyby.

    Already in quarantine to avoid germs, Commander Reid Wiseman and his crew will be the first people to launch to the moon since 1972. They will monitor the dress rehearsal from their Houston base before flying to Kennedy Space Center once the rocket is cleared for flight.

    The 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System rocket moved out to the pad two weeks ago. If Monday’s fueling test goes well, NASA could try to launch within a week. Teams will fill the rocket’s tank with more than 700,000 gallons of super-cold fuel, stopping a half-minute short of when the engines would light.

    A bitter cold spell delayed the fueling demo, and the launch, by two days. Feb. 8 is now the earliest the rocket could blast off.

    Riding in the Orion capsule on top of the rocket, the U.S. and Canadian astronauts will hurtle around the moon and then straight back without stopping until splashdown in the Pacific. The mission will last nearly 10 days.

    NASA sent 24 astronauts to the moon during the Apollo program, from 1968 to 1972. Twelve of them walked on the surface.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • NASA Begins a Practice Countdown for Its First Moonshot With Astronauts in More Than 50 Years

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    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA began a two-day practice countdown Saturday leading up to the fueling of its new moon rocket, a crucial test that will determine when four astronauts blast off on a lunar flyby.

    Already in quarantine to avoid germs, Commander Reid Wiseman and his crew will be the first people to launch to the moon since 1972. They will monitor the dress rehearsal from their Houston base before flying to Kennedy Space Center once the rocket is cleared for flight.

    The 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System rocket moved out to the pad two weeks ago. If Monday’s fueling test goes well, NASA could try to launch within a week. Teams will fill the rocket’s tank with more than 700,000 gallons of super-cold fuel, stopping a half-minute short of when the engines would light.

    A bitter cold spell delayed the fueling demo, and the launch, by two days. Feb. 8 is now the earliest the rocket could blast off.

    Riding in the Orion capsule on top of the rocket, the U.S. and Canadian astronauts will hurtle around the moon and then straight back without stopping until splashdown in the Pacific. The mission will last nearly 10 days.

    NASA sent 24 astronauts to the moon during the Apollo program, from 1968 to 1972. Twelve of them walked on the surface.

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – January 2026

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  • Returning to the moon: An overview of the Artemis Program and Artemis II

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    THE CHARGES THAT SHE’S NOW FACING THIS MORNING. WESH TWO NEWS STARTS NOW WITH BREAKING NEWS. THAT BREAKING NEWS JUST INTO WESH TWO NEWS AND OUR NEWSROOM. NASA IS CONFIRMING THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE LAUNCH OF THE ARTEMIS TWO MISSION IS NOW BEING PUSHED TO SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8TH. IF THAT DATE RINGS A BELL, IT’S BECAUSE IT’S SUPER BOWL SUNDAY. THE AGENCY DIDN’T START THE ROCKET’S WET DRESS REHEARSAL LAST NIGHT. THAT’S DUE TO COLD WEATHER CONDITIONS, SO IT WILL NOW ATTEMPT THE REHEARSAL ON MONDAY, AND THEN THE LAUNCH DATE AND TIME WILL BE FINALIZED. ONCE TEAMS HAVE REVIEWED THE RESULTS OF THE WET DRESS REHEARSAL. AND WE’RE ALSO STAYING ON TOP OF

    Returning to the moon: An overview of the Artemis Program and Artemis II

    Updated: 10:38 AM EST Jan 30, 2026

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    Latest updates on Artemis IIJan. 30: ‘Wet dress rehearsal’ delayed due to weatherJan. 28: Cold weather puts wet dress rehearsal in questionJan. 17: NASA rolls out Artemis II at Kennedy Space CenterArtemis II is preparing for launch from the Kennedy Space Center, where the rocket will carry the Orion spacecraft for a second time, this time with a crew on its journey to the moon.The first launch window opens from Feb. 6-11. If it does not launch in February, there will be another window open in March, and again in April if necessary.>> WESH 2 will stream the launch live in this article The mission aims to test the spacecraft’s systems with astronauts aboard before future lunar landings. The 10-day flight aims to help confirm systems and hardware NASA needs for early human lunar exploration missions.According to NASA, four astronauts will venture around the moon on Artemis II, paving the way for a return to the Moon and eventually Mars.The hope is to establish a long-term presence for future exploration and science through the Artemis Program. The science conducted in space is expected to drive progress in medicine and technology on Earth. As the mission prepares for launch, the crawler transporter moved the Artemis II rocker from the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 17, bringing it to launch pad 39-B. “It’s been since 1972 that human beings have gone anywhere in the vicinity of the moon,” said Dr. Don Platt from Florida Tech. A crew of four astronauts will be aboard NASA’s Space Launch System.Commander: Reid WisemanPilot: Victor GloverMission Specialist: Christina KochMission Specialist: Jeremy Hansen The four astronauts will launch aboard NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and travel inside the Orion spacecraft to fly around the moon. In space, they will test critical systems needed for future moon landings. Artemis Program overviewArtemis is NASA’s long-term Moon exploration campaign.The program’s main goals include returning humans to the moon, building a sustained lunar presence, maturing technology and operations needed for human missions to Mars, and doing this all with international and commercial partners.The missions are each designated to different milestones, strategies and individual goals.Artemis IThis mission is complete.It was an uncrewed integrated flight test of the Space Launch System, which is a heavy-lift rocket that launches crews and large cargo toward the moon, and Orion, which is a crew spacecraft that carries astronauts to lunar orbit and returns them to Earth.SLS and Orion went around the moon and came back to Earth.The purpose of this mission was to validate deep-space performance and reentry before flying with a crew.>> Relive the launch of Artemis I here. Aretmis IIThis mission is planned.Artemis II will be the first crewed mission to the moon.The purpose of the crewed flight is to prove life support, operations and high-speed returns with astronauts. Artemis IIIThis mission is planned.Artemis III will be the first crewed lunar landing of the program, targeting the lunar South Pole region.The 10-day mission will include field geology, sample collection/return and deployed experiments.Four astronauts will launch in Oroin, two will land on the moon for surface work, and then they will return to Orion for the journey back to Earth. Artemis IV and beyondThe future missions will aim to expand on capabilities toward sustained operations on the moon, such as more surface time, more cargo and infrastructure delivery, increased use of Gateway as a staging node, and progression toward an “Artemis Base Camp” style sustainable presence. Why the lunar South Pole?It has scientifically valuable terrain and ancient geology.It contains regions with water ice and other volatiles in permanently shadowed areas, which is key for science and potential resources.Its challenging conditions will help prove the systems needed for Mars-class missions. More information Best Central Florida locations to view the launchIn Volusia CountySouth side of New Smyrna Beach (Canaveral National Seashore)Bethune Beach, 6656 S. Atlantic Ave.Apollo Beach at New Smyrna BeachIn Brevard County (the Space Coast)Jetty Park Beach and Pier, 400 Jetty Park Road, Port Canaveral. (There’s a charge to park.) Space View Park, 8 Broad St., TitusvilleAlan Shepard Park, 299 E. Cocoa Beach Causeway, Cocoa BeachCocoa Beach Pier, 401 Meade Ave. (Parking fee varies.)Lori Wilson Park, 1400 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa BeachIn Vero BeachAlma Lee Loy Bridge in Vero BeachMerrill Barber Bridge in Vero Beach

    Latest updates on Artemis II

    Jan. 30: ‘Wet dress rehearsal’ delayed due to weather

    Jan. 28: Cold weather puts wet dress rehearsal in question

    Jan. 17: NASA rolls out Artemis II at Kennedy Space Center

    Artemis II is preparing for launch from the Kennedy Space Center, where the rocket will carry the Orion spacecraft for a second time, this time with a crew on its journey to the moon.

    The first launch window opens from Feb. 6-11. If it does not launch in February, there will be another window open in March, and again in April if necessary.

    >> WESH 2 will stream the launch live in this article

    The mission aims to test the spacecraft’s systems with astronauts aboard before future lunar landings. The 10-day flight aims to help confirm systems and hardware NASA needs for early human lunar exploration missions.

    According to NASA, four astronauts will venture around the moon on Artemis II, paving the way for a return to the Moon and eventually Mars.

    The hope is to establish a long-term presence for future exploration and science through the Artemis Program. The science conducted in space is expected to drive progress in medicine and technology on Earth.

    As the mission prepares for launch, the crawler transporter moved the Artemis II rocker from the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 17, bringing it to launch pad 39-B.

    “It’s been since 1972 that human beings have gone anywhere in the vicinity of the moon,” said Dr. Don Platt from Florida Tech.

    A crew of four astronauts will be aboard NASA’s Space Launch System.

    • Commander: Reid Wiseman
    • Pilot: Victor Glover
    • Mission Specialist: Christina Koch
    • Mission Specialist: Jeremy Hansen

    The four astronauts will launch aboard NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and travel inside the Orion spacecraft to fly around the moon. In space, they will test critical systems needed for future moon landings.

    artemis ii map

    Artemis Program overview

    Artemis is NASA’s long-term Moon exploration campaign.

    The program’s main goals include returning humans to the moon, building a sustained lunar presence, maturing technology and operations needed for human missions to Mars, and doing this all with international and commercial partners.

    The missions are each designated to different milestones, strategies and individual goals.

    Artemis I

    • This mission is complete.
    • It was an uncrewed integrated flight test of the Space Launch System, which is a heavy-lift rocket that launches crews and large cargo toward the moon, and Orion, which is a crew spacecraft that carries astronauts to lunar orbit and returns them to Earth.
    • SLS and Orion went around the moon and came back to Earth.
    • The purpose of this mission was to validate deep-space performance and reentry before flying with a crew.

    >> Relive the launch of Artemis I here.

    Aretmis II

    • This mission is planned.
    • Artemis II will be the first crewed mission to the moon.
    • The purpose of the crewed flight is to prove life support, operations and high-speed returns with astronauts.

    Artemis III

      • Artemis III will be the first crewed lunar landing of the program, targeting the lunar South Pole region.
      • The 10-day mission will include field geology, sample collection/return and deployed experiments.
      • Four astronauts will launch in Oroin, two will land on the moon for surface work, and then they will return to Orion for the journey back to Earth.

    Artemis IV and beyond

    • The future missions will aim to expand on capabilities toward sustained operations on the moon, such as more surface time, more cargo and infrastructure delivery, increased use of Gateway as a staging node, and progression toward an “Artemis Base Camp” style sustainable presence.

    Why the lunar South Pole?

      • It has scientifically valuable terrain and ancient geology.
      • It contains regions with water ice and other volatiles in permanently shadowed areas, which is key for science and potential resources.
      • Its challenging conditions will help prove the systems needed for Mars-class missions.

    More information

    Best Central Florida locations to view the launch

    In Volusia County

    • South side of New Smyrna Beach (Canaveral National Seashore)
    • Bethune Beach, 6656 S. Atlantic Ave.
    • Apollo Beach at New Smyrna Beach

    In Brevard County (the Space Coast)

    • Jetty Park Beach and Pier, 400 Jetty Park Road, Port Canaveral. (There’s a charge to park.)
    • Space View Park, 8 Broad St., Titusville
    • Alan Shepard Park, 299 E. Cocoa Beach Causeway, Cocoa Beach
    • Cocoa Beach Pier, 401 Meade Ave. (Parking fee varies.)
    • Lori Wilson Park, 1400 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach

    In Vero Beach

    • Alma Lee Loy Bridge in Vero Beach
    • Merrill Barber Bridge in Vero Beach

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  • NASA delays first Artemis moonshot with astronauts due to extreme cold at launch site

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    CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA has delayed astronauts’ upcoming trip to the moon because of near-freezing temperatures expected at the launch site.

    The first Artemis moonshot with a crew is now targeted for no earlier than Feb. 8, two days later than planned.

    NASA was all set to conduct a fueling test of the 322-foot (98-meter) moon rocket on Saturday, but called everything off late Thursday because of the expected cold.

    The critical dress rehearsal is now set for Monday, weather permitting. The change leaves NASA with only three days in February to send four astronauts around the moon and back, before slipping into March.

    “Any additional delays would result in a day for day change,” NASA said in a statement Friday.

    Heaters are keeping the Orion capsule warm atop the rocket, officials said, and rocket-purging systems are also being adapted to the cold.

    Commander Reid Wiseman and his crew remain in quarantine in Houston and their arrival at Kennedy Space Center in Florida is uncertain.

    NASA has only a handful of days any given month to launch its first lunar crew in more than half a century. Apollo 17 closed out that storied moon exploration program in 1972.

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    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • ‘Rare arctic outbreak’ causes NASA to delay Artemis II fueling test

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    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — The “rare arctic” chill that has been sweeping Florida has caused NASA to push back its wet dress rehearsal of the Artemis II moon rocket, the U.S. space agency stated on Friday morning.

    What You Need To Know

    • It means the new date for the wet dress rehearsal will be early next week
    • The new earliest launch date is now Sunday, Feb. 8, but that is tentative

    “Over the past several days, engineers have been closely monitoring conditions as cold weather and winds move through Florida. Managers have assessed hardware capabilities against the projected forecast given the rare arctic outbreak affecting the state and decided to change the timeline. Teams and preparations at the launch pad remain ready for the wet dress rehearsal,” NASA stated.

    This means that the original wet dress rehearsal has been changed from Saturday, Jan. 31, to Monday, Feb. 2.

    This also means that the earliest launch date to send four humans to the moon will not be Friday, Feb. 6, but now no earlier than Sunday, Feb. 8.

    Scroll down to see the launch attempt dates for Artemis II.

    However, the new launch date is tentative and based on how the wet dress rehearsal turns out. The rehearsal is to test the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion capsule.

    The U.S. space agency explained what the testing of the Artemis II rocket will be like.

    “The upcoming wet dress rehearsal is a prelaunch test to fuel the rocket. During the rehearsal, teams demonstrate the ability to load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants into the rocket, conduct a launch countdown, and practice safely removing propellant from the rocket without astronauts inside the spacecraft,” stated NASA.

    Once the test is complete and if all goes well (include Mother Nature playing nice), then the Artemis II will see four people — NASA’s Cmdr. Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut mission specialist Jeremy Hansen — go to the moon for a flyby mission.

    The quartet has been in quarantine in Houston since Friday, Jan. 23, 2026.

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    Anthony Leone

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  • As billionaires chase immortality, this startup cofounded by a Harvard genetics professor gets FDA approval for the first partial de-aging human trial | Fortune

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    A startup cofounded by a renowned Harvard geneticist has taken a step toward cracking the human body’s biological breakdown by securing FDA approval to test its cutting-edge gene therapy on humans.

    Life Biosciences, a biotech company cofounded by Harvard genetics professor David Sinclair, said Wednesday it had secured approval for a Phase 1 clinical trial aiming, in part, to restore vision in people with eye conditions such as glaucoma and non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) through “partial epigenetic reprogramming.” During the trial, researchers will attempt to turn back the biological clock on damaged cells in a person’s eye by directly injecting it. This allows the therapy to reach damaged retinal ganglion cells and deliver “rejuvenation instructions” directly to the target cells to help restore their function and potentially reverse vision loss.

    The company will enroll its first patients over the next couple of months, with results potentially coming by the end of the year or early next year, CEO Jerry McLaughlin told Fortune.

    McLaughlin, a pharmaceutical industry veteran who previously worked at Merck and at venture-backed biotechs such as Neos Therapeutics and AgeneBio said the approval was groundbreaking: “It’s a transformational day, I think, for science overall, for Life Biosciences, for the field of partial epigenetic reprogramming,” he said.

    The FDA approval, which McLaughlin said researchers in his industry have been waiting on for years, puts the lean Life Biosciences team (fewer than 20 people) ahead of the pack, as the longevity boom is increasingly being underwritten by billionaire money. 

    Altos Labs, one of the highest-profile bets on cell rejuvenation, launched with $3 billion in funding in 2022 and reportedly counts Amazon founder and the world’s fourth-wealthiest person Jeff Bezos as an early backer. Meanwhile, NewLimit, the longevity startup cofounded by billionaire Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong last year raised $130 million in Series B financing, to pursue epigenetic reprogramming. Even Elon Musk, Tesla CEO and the richest man in the world, has recently entered the longevity chat, saying at Davos aging is a “very solvable problem.” 

    Tackling vision loss first

    Rather than focus on full-body de-aging, Life Biosciences’ is taking a “staged approach” to de-aging, first tackling optic neuropathies, conditions in which damage to the optic nerve erodes vision. The trial aims to restore some vision in both patients with glaucoma and NAION—both of which can cause blindness. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and it’s especially prevalent in adults between the ages of 64 and 84. NAION, meanwhile, is the “most common acute, optic neuropathy” in people over 50. McLaughlin said the company chose to focus on these diseases partly because of their outsized impact on patients.

    “The bad news is there’s absolutely nothing to treat [NAION], and the even worse news is that there’s about a 20-to-30% chance in the next two to three years it’s going to happen in the second eye,” he said.

    McLaughlin said Life Biosciences is already applying its epigenetic reprogramming to help treat other conditions. The company previously saw success in treating liver fibrosis, or MASH, which he said showed the company’s approach “transcends organs.” 

    While the company is first focused on helping patients with vision loss, McLaughlin isn’t ignorant about the potentially giant opportunity opening up thanks to a rapidly aging global population.

    “Our population replacement is not there in the U.S. We’re well below population replacement,” said McLaughlin. “It’s worse in other parts of the world, and with a rapidly aging population, extending healthy human lifespan is critical, from an economic standpoint, and for society overall.”

    The world’s cumulative fertility rate has been dropping for years, but the U.S. fertility rate, in particular, hit a record low in 2024, at 1.6 children per woman, below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. The country’s fertility rate is on par with other advanced economies, such as Iceland and the United Kingdom, according to data from the World Bank. Others come in even lower, like Japan, which recorded a fertility rate of 1.15 births per woman in 2024, according to a local government agency.

    The science behind Life Biosciences

    Life Biosciences cofounder and Harvard geneticist Sinclair is the key behind the company’s FDA breakthrough. Previously Sinclair, who earned a Ph.D. in molecular genetics from the University of New South Wales, led pioneering research on partial epigenetic reprogramming, partially de-aging cells by modifying their epigenome, biochemical markers that tell genes when to turn on or off without altering the underlying DNA sequence.  

    Sinclair’s research showed that, by using three of four proteins that Nobel-prize winning Japanese scientist Shinya Yamanaka previously found could fully reset the age of a stem cell to pluripotency—or a blank state—researchers could rejuvenate cells without resetting them so fully that they “forget” their original function. Partially resetting the cells had more potential for therapeutic uses because these cells “maintain” their identity, as they partially de-age, unlike the fully reset cells that “forget” their function and can turn into tumors.

    Sinclair laid the foundation for his work using mice in preclinical trials, Life Biosciences then licensed the technology from Harvard and Sinclair’s lab to test on non-human primates to better match the human eye’s anatomy.

    In those studies, McLaughlin said, Life Biosciences induced a NAION-like injury and then used the treatment to reverse the vision loss and restore it to that of a healthy primate.

    Despite the increasing competition in the space, McLaughlin isn’t scared of competitors, and he said the large amount of money and activity in the longevity space is warranted. Following the FDA approval, more companies may even follow Life Biosciences’ footsteps and focus more on epigenetic reprogramming, he said, which could overall be positive for the field.

    “We believe this has some of the highest prospects, best prospects, in aging science—partial epigenetic reprogramming,” he said. “As we continue to generate evidence, evidence is only going to bring more people to the field.”

    This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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    Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez

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  • SpaceX hits milestone after launching more than 11,000 Starlink satellites

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    CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — It was a chilly morning for anyone who stayed up late to watch SpaceX launch nearly 30 Starlink satellites launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station very early Friday morning.

    With Friday morning’s launch of the Starlink 6-101 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, more than 11,000 Starlink satellites are now in orbit around the Earth

    What You Need To Know

    • More than 11,000 Starlink satellites have been launched since 2019

    Going up

    This is only the fifth mission for the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster and all four of its missions have been Starlink launches.

    After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket will land on the droneship Just Read the Instructions that will be in the Atlantic Ocean.

    About the mission

    The 29 satellites from the Starlink company, owned by SpaceX, will be heading to low-Earth orbit to join the thousands already there.

    Once deployed and in their orbit, they will provide internet service to many parts of Earth.

    And we do mean thousands. Dr. Jonathan McDowell, of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has been recording Starlink satellites and their launches.

    And according to his records, there have been 11,034 Starlink satellites that have been launched since the very first batch in 2019.

    But not all of them are fully operational. Or at all. Some are no longer in working order because of age, technical mishaps, or being directed to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere.

    Before this launch, McDowell recorded the following:

    • 9,573 are in orbit
    • 8,297 are in operational orbit

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  • FAA recommends 44 launches per year for SpaceX’s Starship

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    CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — SpaceX passed another milestone in its effort to bring its Super Heavy Starship rocket to the Space Coast.

    What You Need To Know

    • The report recommended that SpaceX could pursue up to 44 launches per year from Kennedy Space Center
    • This also includes 88 landings, 44 for Starship and 44 for the Super Heavy rocket booster
    • Super Heavy is the rocket booster part of the vehicle; the spacecraft is called Starship

    On Friday, the FAA released a 444-page “Record of Decision” on a final environmental impact statement.

    The report recommended that SpaceX could pursue up to 44 launches per year from Kennedy Space Center. This also includes 88 landings, 44 for Starship and 44 for the Super Heavy rocket booster.

    The agency previously released an environmental impact statement to allow up to 76 launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

    SpaceX would still need to complete mitigation work and get approval for a launch license from the FAA before those launches could begin.

    Some residents have voiced concerns about beach access or noise related to the launches.

    The agency acknowledged impacts on commercial flights, in particular, international flights, due to the need for ground stops and re-routing.

    The FAA also considered that launches could cost the National Parks Service revenue due to required closures of parts of the Canaveral National Seashore.

    And that sonic booms could expose some Brevard County residents to noise during late-night operations, but still stuck with the recommendations to approve.

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    Spectrum News Staff

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  • Blue Origin puts a pause on New Shepard launches to focus on the moon

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    NATIONWIDE— Space will not be a destination for paying customers for a while, at least not through Blue Origin.

    What You Need To Know

    • Blue Origin stated it wants to focus on its “lunar capabilities”
    • NASA has tapped Blue Origin and other companies for the Artemis III mission

    The company announced Friday that it would pause its reusable New Shepard rocket flights for at least two years.

    Those are the ones that sent passengers, including Katy Perry, Gayle King, Jeff Bezos, Michael Strahan, and William Shatner, above the Kármán line to experience weightlessness.

    The majority of the passengers have not been celebrities who went beyond the line to the edge of space, at 62 miles/100 kilometers above the planet’s surface.

    Blue Origin had run more than a dozen of those flights, with the most recent one having lifted off just over a week ago, on Jan. 22.

    The company stated it will shift resources to accelerate its “lunar capabilities.”

    “Blue Origin today announced it will pause its New Shepard flights and shift resources to further accelerate development of the company’s human lunar capabilities. The decision reflects Blue Origin’s commitment to the nation’s goal of returning to the Moon and establishing a permanent, sustained lunar presence,” stated Brett Griffin, director of Blue Origin’s public relations.

    In October 2025, then NASA acting Administrator Sean Duffy said the U.S. space agency is considering Blue Origin and other companies to handle the task of returning humans to the moon’s surface because SpaceX’s Starship was behind schedule.

    “Now, SpaceX had the contract for Artemis III. By the way, I love SpaceX and it’s an amazing company, but the problem is, they are behind. They pushed their timelines out and we are in a race against China. The president and I want to get to the moon in this president’s term. So, I’m going to open up the contract and I’m going let other space companies compete with SpaceX, like Blue Origin. Whatever one gets us there first to the moon, we are going to take. If SpaceX is behind and Blue Origin can do it before them, good on Blue Origin,” he wrote on X at the time.

    During a September 2025 media tour of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket facility in Florida, Spectrum News asked U.S. Rep. Mike Haridopolos, who is the chairman of the U.S. Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, if NASA had any backup plans if Starship was behind schedule.

    He only said that the only focus at that time was Artemis II, which will see four astronauts flyby the moon in NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft.

    Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander is set to have an uncrewed launch to land on the moon sometime in 2026, and the Blue Moon Mark 2 lunar lander will be taking humans back to the moon’s surface for the Artemis V mission.

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    Spectrum News Staff, Anthony Leone

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  • SpaceX hits milestone with more than 11,000 Starlink launches

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    CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — You might want to grab a light coat if you plan on staying up late to watch SpaceX launch nearly 30 Starlink satellites very early Friday morning.

    And more than 11,000 Starlink satellites have been launched. 

    What You Need To Know

    • More than 11,000 Starlink satellites have been launched since 2019

    The Falcon 9 rocket will send up Starlink 6-101 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, stated SpaceX.

    The launch window will open at 11 p.m. ET, Thursday, and remain open until 3 a.m. ET, Friday, which means SpaceX has during that time period to send up its Falcon 9.

    Currently, the liftoff time is 12:51 a.m ET, Friday. It was set for a Friday launch at 11:01 p.m. ET and then 11:24 p.m. ET. No word on why the liftoff time was pushed back.

    The 45th Weather Squadron gave a 95% chance of good liftoff conditions, with the only concern being the thick cloud layers rule.

    Find out more about the weather criteria for a Falcon 9 launch.

    Going up

    This is only the fifth mission for the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster and all four of its missions have been Starlink launches.

    After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket will land on the droneship Just Read the Instructions that will be in the Atlantic Ocean.

    About the mission

    The 29 satellites from the Starlink company, owned by SpaceX, will be heading to low-Earth orbit to join the thousands already there.

    Once deployed and in their orbit, they will provide internet service to many parts of Earth.

    And we do mean thousands. Dr. Jonathan McDowell, of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has been recording Starlink satellites and their launches.

    And according to his records, there have been 11,034 Starlink satellites that have been launched since the very first batch in 2019.

    But not all of them are fully operational. Or at all. Some are no longer in working order because of age, technical mishaps, or being directed to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere.

    Before this launch, McDowell recorded the following:

    • 9,573 are in orbit
    • 8,297 are in operational orbit

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    Anthony Leone

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  • It’s one storm after another for much of the US, but the next one’s path is uncertain

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    HOUSTON — HOUSTON (AP) — Winter’s brutal grip on the U.S. East is not letting up, with coming days bringing subfreezing temperatures that will plunge deep into what had been a toasty Florida peninsula and a powerful blizzard forecast that may strike the Atlantic coast.

    Deep cold is forecast to stick around at least into the first week of February. Meteorologists are also watching what could become a “ bomb cyclone ” — a quickly intensifying storm that’s a winter version of a hurricane — forming off the Carolinas Friday night into Saturday.

    “A major winter storm appears to be coming to the Carolinas,” said meteorologist Peter Mullinax of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Weather Prediction Center.

    That storm could dump snow — at least 6 inches (15 centimeters) with white-out conditions — in the Carolinas, northern Georgia and southern Virginia. After that, it could turn and plow through the Interstate 95 corridor late Saturday into Sunday to dump loads more snow from Washington to Boston, further paralyzing much of the country. Or it could deliver a glancing blow, mostly striking places like Cape Cod.

    Alternatively, it could just veer off harmlessly to sea. Meteorologists and forecast models aren’t yet settling on a single outcome.

    “The confidence is much higher that in the coastal Carolinas and Virginia that there will be significant snowfall this weekend,” said James Belanger, vice president for meteorology at the Weather Channel and its parent company. “The real question is going to be the trajectory it takes” from there.

    Private meteorologist Ryan Maue, a former NOAA chief scientist, said for the mid-Atlantic and north it’s a “boom or bust” situation. “If it happens (to go along the coast) it’s going to be a big-time event.”

    On Tuesday forecast models were all over the place, from out to sea to inward toward Philadelphia. By Wednesday morning they started to agree that “we’re likely to see some form of a powerful coastal storm somewhere east of North Carolina, off the Delmarva coast, but they still disagree as to where,” Mullinax said.

    Chances of the storm veering away from the East Coast entirely had diminished Wednesday morning, but hadn’t disappeared altogether, Mullinax said.

    Of all the options, “from D.C. up to New York is probably the most unclear,” Mullinax said. He said a mere 50-mile (80-kilometer) difference in the storm’s center will be critical. AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dan Pydynowski said it may be hard for the southern mid-Atlantic to avoid some kind of snow, whether a little or a lot.

    This weekend’s storm will differ from the previous storm, which started with moist air from the Pacific that combined with a deep plunge of Arctic air from an elongated polar vortex supplemented by more moisture from the south and east, meteorologists said. The last storm had little wind. This one will generate high winds, even if the snow misses the Washington area, generating gusts that could still reach 40 mph (65 kph), plunging wind chills near subzero Fahrenheit (minus 18 Celsius), Mullinax said.

    “It looks like a pretty strong and explosive storm so everybody is going to have some gusty winds,” Pydynowski said, even inland places that won’t come close to getting snow like Pittsburgh. Strong winds may take daytime temperatures in the teens there down to feeling like they are below zero, he said.

    “This is what we’d consider more of a classic nor’easter,” Belanger said, describing a storm forming around the U.S. Gulf Coast crossing into the Atlantic and going up that coast.

    In this case, one key is warmer-than-normal water in the Gulf of Mexico — partly from human-caused climate change — and the always toasty Atlantic Gulf Stream, said Bernadette Woods Placky, chief meteorologist for the nonprofit Climate Central.

    When that happens the storm “pulls in more moisture and it gives it more strength,” she said.

    Once the core of the storm nears the Carolinas its pressure will drop tremendously, enough to qualify for what meteorologists call “bombogenesis” or “a bomb cyclone,” That will give it the effect of a moderate-strength hurricane, including huge winds, but in the winter, Maue and Belanger said.

    If the storm does come ashore, those winds and extra snow could cause massive snow drifts big enough to bury cars, Maue said.

    What is more certain is that the Arctic chill in the Midwest and East will continue through mid-February, with only slight warmups that would still be below normal, meteorologists said.

    And this new weekend storm “is going to take that cold and it’s going to spill right down the heart of the Florida peninsula,” Pydynowski said. Orlando is forecast to go well below freezing and only have a high of 48 F (9 C), smashing temperature records, while even Miami and Key West will flirt with record cold Sunday and Monday, meteorologists said.

    The outlook for Florida was cold enough to raise concerns about damage to the state’s citrus and strawberries.

    “We’re going into a brutally cold period,” Maue said.

    After this weekend storm, long-range models see another one at the end of the first week of February, Maue said. Meteorologists see the East stuck in a pattern of bitter cold and snowstorms because of the plunging Arctic air and warm water.

    East Coast snowstorms don’t happen too often, but “when it happens, it happens in bunches,” said former National Weather Service director Louis Uccellini, who has written meteorology textbooks on winter snowstorms.

    ___

    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • How the lessons learned from the Challenger disaster apply to Artemis rockets

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    NATIONWIDE — As NASA prepares for the wet dress rehearsal of its Artemis II moon rocket and capsule, many are noticing similarities between the cold temperatures this week and how they played a part in the demise of the space shuttle Challenger and its crew 40 years ago.

    However, an expert at Florida Tech explains why the cold weather should not impact Artemis II.

    What You Need To Know

    • A lot of lessons were learned after the Challenger incident
    • Get more space coverage here  ▶

    • 🔻Scroll down to watch interviews with Don Platt, director of Florida Tech’s Spaceport Education Center🔻

    The Artemis II will see NASA’s Cmdr. Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut mission specialist Jeremy Hansen do a flyby of the moon in the Orion spacecraft.

    However, the wet dress rehearsal of Orion and the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that is currently set for Saturday will see cold temperatures of 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 Celsius).

    Forty years ago on Jan. 28, the space shuttle Challenger blew up 73 seconds after launch, killing its crew. The explosion took the lives of Michael J. Smith, Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, Ronald E. McNair, Ellison S. Onizuka, S. Christa McAuliffe, Gregory B. Jarvis, and Judith A. Resnik.

    The explosion was caused when the O-rings failed at cold temperatures. The rings on the rocket create a seal to prevent exhaust gases from leaking.

    The O-rings were rated to be flown at 39 degrees Fahrenheit (3.9 Celsius) or higher. But when the launch happened at 11:38 a.m. ET, the temperature was at 36 degrees Fahrenheit (2.2 Celsius).

    With the chilly temperatures that are currently sweeping through the Sunshine State, many are worried about Artemis II’s wet dress rehearsal for Saturday and the earliest launch attempt on Friday, Feb. 06.

    However, Don Platt, director of Florida Tech’s Spaceport Education Center, shares how the lessons learned after the Challenger incident were already applied to other shuttle missions, which do impact Artemis II.

    “Well, even in the shuttle program itself, there was about a three-and-a-half-year delay or so, after the Challenger disaster, and so that time was spent reviewing the entire shuttle program, but specifically reviewing these these segment joints that I just talked about and redesigning how the O-rings, these rubber seal material segments fit into that joint. And they added additional redundancy, essentially another layer,” Platt said.

    He continued how these improvements are still being used.

    “Now, of course, you know, after these 40 years, NASA has spent a lot of time looking at ways to improve the joint and materials have, of course, come a long way since the 1980s as well. And so now the the feeling is that the SLS solid rocket booster joints are robust and will not be a major concern at temperatures even down into the 30s and 20s,” Platt shared.

    He explained that with crewed missions, where humans will be on board a spacecraft, extra caution takes place, especially during wet dress rehearsals.

    And this caution goes beyond the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule. It also includes other things.

    [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7XHOPa2x0U[/embed]

    “And all of the components that connect to the rocket to provide propellent into the rocket and to provide electrical power, to make sure that all the interfaces for when the astronauts take the elevator up into the top of the rocket, all of that stuff is working fine and everybody knows exactly what they’re doing,” he said, adding, “You don’t want to have some sort of thing pop up there when they’re actually ready to go and and ready to get into the vehicle and and fly to the moon.”

    In many ways, the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022 was a wet dress rehearsal for the Artemis II, Platt said. It was during this test flight of the Orion capsule that an issue with the heat shield was discovered.

    A material called Avcoat that was on the heat shield broke off in chunks during the re-entry phase of Artemis I.

    The Avcoat material is designed to protect a spacecraft from extreme temperatures by burning away as it heats up, instead of sending that heat to the capsule itself.

    However, during re-entry, it broke up into chunks instead of burning away. This issue pushed back the Artemis II and III missions, but NASA has stated it has resolved the problem.

    Platt shared how the Artemis missions will have a profound impact on people.

    [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9jmlwQzsK8[/embed]

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  • Video shows flames flying from NASA plane that touched down without landing gear

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    A NASA research plane malfunctioned and had to touch down in Texas without landing gear on Tuesday, sliding across the runway on its belly and sending plumes of flame behind it, a video posted to social media showed.

    The crew landed the plane at Ellington Airport, southeast of Houston, and are “all safe at this time,” NASA said in a post on X. The federal space agency added that there was “mechanical issue” that will be investigated.

    The aircraft with its distinct thin fuselage is the NASA WB-57. The plane with two crew seats is capable of flying for about 6 1/2 hours at high altitudes — beyond 63,000 feet (19,200 meters).

    Video shows the plane slowly descending toward the runway, then touching down with a jolt, its wings bouncing as yellow fire and white smoke bursts from beneath it. It steadily slides down the track, the flames bursting and disappearing in a cloud of smoke. The aircraft begins to slow before the video ends.

    Local news footage from KHOU 11 shows the plane at a stop, the cockpit hatch open, fire trucks flashing nearby and emergency responders working around the black nose of the aircraft.

    The NASA WB-57 has flown research missions since the 1970s and continues to be an asset for the scientific community, according to the agency’s website.

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  • NASA sets date for Artemis II fueling test

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    KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — NASA has set the date when it will conduct a fueling test for its Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft that will take four people to the moon.

    What You Need To Know

    • Artemis II will see four astronauts flyby the moon
    • A wet dress rehearsal simulates the launch of the Artemis II moon rocket
    • If an issue is discovered, it may push back the launch

    The U.S. space agency is considering Saturday, Jan. 31, as the earliest date for its wet dress rehearsal, which will simulate the launch of the Artemis II moon rocket.

    “The upcoming wet dress rehearsal is a prelaunch test to fuel the rocket. During the rehearsal, teams demonstrate the ability to load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants into the rocket, conduct a launch countdown, and practice safely removing propellant from the rocket without astronauts inside the spacecraft,” stated NASA in a blog.

    There will be several test runs of this simulated launch that will test the Artemis II team’s ability to put a hold on the launch and resume it.

    “The rehearsal will count down to a simulated launch at 9 p.m. EST, but could run to approximately 1 a.m. if needed. The first run will begin approximately 49 hours before launch when launch teams are called to their stations, to 1 minute 30 seconds before launch, followed by a planned three-minute hold and then countdown resumption to 33 seconds before launch — the point at which the rocket’s automatic launch sequencer will control the final seconds of the countdown,” explained NASA.

    If the team detects any issues or anomalies with either the rocket or capsule, the two craft will be rolled from their home on Launch Pad 39B to the Vehicle Assembly Building for work. They were rolled to the launch pad on Saturday, Jan. 17.

    This would also push back the launch if they are rolled back. At the moment, NASA is aiming for a Friday, Feb. 06, launch.

     

    NASA also addressed the cold snap that has attacked the Sunshine State this week.

    “With cold weather sweeping the country and lower than normal temperatures expected in Florida Tuesday, Jan. 27, technicians are taking steps to ensure environmental control systems keeping Orion and SLS elements at the proper conditions are prepared for the cold,” the American space agency stated.

    NASA also revealed that the Artemis II emergency egress system (where baskets will take crew and launch pad personnel from the mobile launcher to the ground) did not work as expected, but has been resolved.

    “… the baskets used to transport the crew and other pad personnel from the mobile launcher in an emergency stopped short of the terminus area located inside the pad perimeter. Since then, the brakes of the system have been adjusted to ensure the baskets fully descend,” NASA commented.

    Artemis II will see four people — NASA’s Cmdr. Gregory Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut mission specialist Jeremy Hansen — go to the moon for a flyby mission.

    The first Artemis I mission in 2022, where the uncrewed rocket and capsule were tested, saw a number of delays.

    It was originally expected to launch on Aug. 29, 2022, but a liquid hydrogen leak and temperature issues with the engine forced the first attempt to be scrubbed.

    A second attempt was scrubbed as a separate liquid hydrogen leak was discovered.

    After other issues and two hurricanes, NASA was not able to launch Artemis I until November of that year.

    It is not uncommon for rockets, even established ones like SpaceX’s Falcon 9, to be sent back for repairs or adjustments after testing has shown that issues were detected.

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  • Titusville’s American Space Museum to auction off NASA rocket engine

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    TITUSVILLE, Fla. — Who wants a NASA rocket engine? Or signed items from astronauts of the Apollo missions? How about a lunar-dust-stained checklist?

    It can all be yours at Titusville’s American Space Museum’s online auction. 

    What You Need To Know

    • There are a lot of various items up for auction, with many from the Apollo missions

    The online auction started on Sunday, Jan. 25, and it will end on Valentine’s Day.

    One of the items up for bid is a NASA Rocketdyne S-3D rocket engine. This particular engine was not used for any of the early Mercury or Apollo missions. It was used for ballistic missiles.

    Some of the other items include:

    • Things signed by Apollo astronauts
    • Items flown on Apollo missions, like the American flag on the Apollo 15 mission
    • Patches from John Young’s space suit from when he was the command module pilot of Apollo 10
    • An Apollo 17 checklist that is stained with lunar dust, signed by Cmdr. Gene Cernan
    • You can see more items with additional information here

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  • Scientists recover the oldest wooden tools from a site in Greece

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    NEW YORK — Two artifacts found at a lake shore in Greece are the oldest wooden tools to be uncovered so far and date back 430,000 years.

    One is a spindly stick about 2 1/2 feet (80 centimeters) long that could have been used for digging in the mud. The other is a smaller, more mysterious handheld chunk of willow or poplar wood that may have been used to shape stone tools, according to research published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

    Scientists think ancient humans wielded a whole litany of tools made from stone, bone and wood. But it’s particularly difficult to find evidence of wooden tools today because wood rots so quickly. Such tools are only preserved in specific environments like in ice, caves or underwater.

    The newest tools, found in Greece’s Megalopolis basin, were possibly buried quickly by sediment and preserved by a wet environment over time. For years, researchers have found other remnants at the site, including stone tools and elephant bones with cuts on them. While scientists didn’t directly date the wooden tools, the site is about 430,000 years old, which provides insight into the objects’ age.

    “I’ve always just been thrilled to be able to touch these objects,” said study author Annemieke Milks with the University of Reading.

    Human remains haven’t been found at the site yet, so it’s not yet clear who used the tools. The owners could have been Neanderthals, early human ancestors or someone else.

    The site in Greece probably has more gems from the past that are waiting to be found, said archaeologist Jarod Hutson with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. But the unassuming appearance of these two new tools makes them harder to interpret.

    “It’s difficult to get excited about these because they don’t strike you immediately as wooden tools. And we don’t know what they were used for,” said Hutson, who was not involved with the new study.

    Other examples of ancient wooden tools include a set of spears from Germany and 300,000-year-old Chinese digging sticks that may have been used to harvest plants.

    The new find offers a rare look into the varied collection of tools used to survive — a glimpse at a “little known aspect of the technology of early humans,” study author Katerina Harvati with the University of Tübingen said in an email.

    —-

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Mysterious dark matter may be better understood through a new map of far-off galaxies

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    NEW YORK — A new high-resolution map of distant galaxies may help scientists understand a mysterious invisible substance that helps hold the universe together.

    The ordinary matter all around us — stars, planets and people — makes up just 5% of the universe. For decades, researchers have hoped to demystify what’s known as dark matter, a material that comprises just over a quarter of our universe. Another equally mysterious force called dark energy makes up the rest.

    Dark matter doesn’t absorb or give off light so scientists can’t study it directly. But they can observe how its gravity warps and bends the star stuff around it — for example, the light from distant galaxies. By studying these distortions across large swathes of the universe, scientists can get closer to unmasking dark matter and its various hiding places.

    The latest map, created with images from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, is the most detailed yet over such a large patch of sky. It has twice the resolution of previous attempts using the Hubble Space Telescope and captures hundreds of thousands of galaxies over the past 10 billion years.

    “Now, we can see everything more clearly,” said study author Diana Scognamiglio with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

    The latest map, published Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy, includes information on new galaxy clusters and the strands of dark matter that connect them. Piece by piece, these structures help form the skeleton of the universe. Scientists can study this map to see how dark matter has clumped up over billions of years.

    Dark matter doesn’t have much of an impact on your midday lunch order or your nightly bedtime ritual. But it silently passes through your body all the time and has shaped the universe.

    As humans, we’re naturally curious to know more about where we come from and that story can’t be told without dark matter, said astrophysicist Rutuparna Das with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

    “Our home is the universe and we want to understand what the nature of it is,” said Das, who was not involved with the new study.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • Heading a ball contributed to brain injury suffered by late Scotland defender McQueen, coroner says

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    NORTHALLERTON, England — Repeatedly heading a soccer ball “likely” contributed to the brain injury that was a factor in the death of former Manchester United and Scotland defender Gordon McQueen, a coroner found Monday.

    McQueen died in June 2023 at the age of 70, with the cause of death given as pneumonia after he became frail and bed-bound for months.

    In his narrative conclusions following an inquest, coroner Jon Heath said McQueen died from pneumonia as a consequence of mixed vascular dementia and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. CTE is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated head trauma.

    “It is likely that repetitive head impacts sustained by heading the ball while playing football contributed to the CTE,” the coroner said.

    His daughter, Hayley McQueen, was in court to hear the findings. She gave evidence during the inquest, saying her father had said that ’heading a football for all those years probably hasn’t helped” his condition.

    She said her father was relatively injury-free during his career but did suffer some concussions, adding: “They would just head back out and play.”

    Hayley McQueen, a TV presenter, said she hopes the findings of the inquest will lead to change in soccer and “make sure that this really real, horrible problem isn’t a problem for future generations.”

    McQueen played 30 games for Scotland between 1974-81, and for Manchester United and Leeds in a 16-year career.

    After retiring as a player, McQueen went into coaching and became a TV pundit.

    After his death, his family donated his brain to professor Willie Stewart, a consultant neuropathologist at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, the inquest heard.

    Stewart has conducted extensive research into brain injuries in soccer and rugby players. He told the inquest he found evidence of CTE and vascular dementia.

    Stewart said the only evidence available was that McQueen’s “high exposure” to heading a soccer ball contributed to the death and that heading the ball contributed to the CTE.

    ___

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  • Across the forgotten walls of a Hong Kong island, a flock of bird murals rises

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    HONG KONG — They perch gently on concrete ledges. They nestle into peeling stucco. Occasionally, they soar across a stone house’s rooftop.

    A flock has landed in Wang Tong Village, a peaceful corner of Lantau Island on Hong Kong’s southwestern edge. But this flock is unlike others: Its birds are made of paint.

    They exist on murals designed for a larger purpose — not merely to draw attention to forgotten places but to tell the story of the extraordinary journeys birds undertake.

    Dominic Johnson-Hill, who envisioned the flock, was captivated by an account from his ornithologist neighbor about the Amur falcon, a bird that travels from Manchuria, pauses in Lantau, then continues its migration across Myanmar, India and Madagascar to South Africa.

    “I just assumed these birds lived on the island,” Johnson-Hill recalls. “But they’re not. They’re passing guests.”

    That sense of wonder became the seed for what became the Flock Project. Johnson-Hill looked at the abandoned house next to his own and imagined a red-billed blue magpie painted across the wall. “They just seemed to belong there,” he says.

    To bring the vision to life, Johnson-Hill sought out someone who could paint birds not just accurately but with soul. He found British artist Rob Aspire, known as “The Birdman” for his intricate, expressive murals of birds.

    One bird led to another. A year later, Johnson-Hill invited Aspire back and commissioned seven more murals.

    Each bird was chosen for its ecological presence, visual harmony or symbolic resonance with place. A kingfisher keeps watch over a stream where fishing is no longer allowed. A Swinhoe’s white-eye blends into the walls near trees where its bright, fluting call still echoes.

    All the murals are painted on abandoned homes except one. High on Sunset Peak, 868 meters (nearly 3,000 feet) above sea level, a long-tailed shrike perches naturally on the rooftop of a 90-year-old stone house, watching the mountains unfold below.

    The goal is to gradually bring more of Hong Kong’s native and migratory birds into view, nestling them into forgotten corners of the island as if they had always lived there.

    The murals draw hundreds of people, many from Hong Kong’s concrete heart. They wander the trails and alleys of Lantau’s quiet corners. On weekends, some bring chalk and mark out arrows, turning village paths into treasure maps for the next bird hunter. Sometimes noticing beauty is the first step toward wanting to protect it.

    Johnson-Hill has created an online map for visitors and is planning the next phase. What comes next depends on what reveals itself — a derelict house brought to his attention, or the conditions that make another bird possible.

    Birds migrate. They disappear. Sometimes they return, sometimes not. People are the same way. Villages empty, but the walls remain — with a painted bird, or the memory of one.

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  • When big snow and ice blow in, most people reach for salt. There are ways to reduce its harms

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    Winter has its fans, but even those who enjoy playing in the snow probably dislike the chore of clearing up after a big storm that dumps several inches or even feet of snow and ice.

    It’s easy to dash to the closest hardware store to grab a bag of salt, but experts say there are a lot of environmental and other factors to consider when tackling all that ice and snow.

    Here’s what to know.

    Rock salt, also known as sodium chloride, is the cheapest and most commonly used product. But it’s not great for the environment and it’s not the most effective option out there.

    “There’s a chart we reference that’s chemical effectiveness at certain temperatures. And really, when you get to about 15 degrees or colder, you can keep applying more and more rock salt and it’s not going to do any more than it already does,” said Martin Tirado, CEO of the Snow and Ice Management Association, a trade group for industry professionals.

    In those conditions, other products — calcium chloride, magnesium chloride — release heat that helps the salt work better, Tirado said.

    The different formulations vary in other ways, too, including how quickly they work, their corrosiveness and how they interact with moisture. Calcium chloride and magnesium chloride can cost at least twice as much as rock salt.

    But all contain chlorides that can pollute fresh water, damage shrubs, trees and grass and crumble concrete sidewalks, stoops and driveways.

    Blends and coatings can reduce the corrosive nature and environmental hazards of these salts, experts say.

    Calcium manganese acetate is one of the tamest de-icing products out there, developed specifically to replace rock salt and be more environmentally friendly. It is biodegradable, a corrosion inhibitor, and typically used as a liquid. But it is much more expensive and can still create issues with dissolved oxygen on bodies of water.

    Pamela Bennett, a horticulture professor at Ohio State, said rock salt is the worst for plants. It gets them in two ways: through the roots and through the air.

    Salt percolates through the soil. When plants start to draw in salty water in the spring, that dries roots, leading to dry leaves. Brown tips on leaves indicate the soil might have gotten too salty.

    Salt can also reach plant foliage — in the winter, that’s evergreens — directly when it’s carried by mist and spray. That’s an issue that’s worse on major roads as a lot of traffic moves quickly.

    “When you have a lot of road salt on the highways, cars are splashing and wind blows it. That salt turns into what looks like a burn,” Bennett says.

    Most people walking their dog in snowy places have seen what happens when they walk across a heavy salt treatment — stopping suddenly and lifting a paw as if in pain.

    “Their paw pads get dry or they get little cuts because those crystals are sharp, and then they’re chewing them because that’s the only way they know to make it feel better,” said Alison Manchester, an assistant clinical sciences professor at Cornell University. If they swallow enough salt, it can lead to vomiting, too.

    For some people, animal safety is a strong reason to look to a nonsalt option against ice and snow.

    Abrasives such as gravel and sand can help with grip, so pedestrians and tires are less likely to slip. But they also come with their own problems.

    Sand that runs off into freshwater bodies — lakes, streams and rivers — can kill natural growth, Tirado said.

    Sand can also accumulate in your soil, eventually becoming a problem for plant growth. It can even make a type of concrete when it mixes in clay-heavy soils, experts say.

    Unconventional solutions are out there. You can buy a de-icer that wraps its chlorides in beet juice or beet extract that coats the granules for a variety of benefits, including melting ice faster, working in colder temperatures and staying where it’s put. And a Korean company, Star’s Tech, is working with material taken from invasive starfish to produce a de-icer that it says more slowly releases chloride material and thus avoids some of the corrosion and environmental problems of salt.

    Experts say preparation and strategy can make clearing ice easier. That starts with watching forecasts to see how much snow is expected.

    “People wait until after the storm to start shoveling,” Tirado said. “That’s fine if you’re having 1 to 2 inches. If you start getting 3, 4 or more inches than that, you can’t wait … you need to go out multiple times. That way it keeps the paved surface more clear in a productive and proactive manner.”

    Ground temperature matters. If it’s warmer, you may be able to use less than you think you need. Colder ground temperatures might require more.

    Proper application of whatever you put on your sidewalk or driveway is important, too.

    “The key here is to not use too much and scatter it too much,” said David Orr, director of the Local Roads Program at Cornell. “We also do probably need to get into the habit that it may not be perfectly bare and that can be OK.”

    ___

    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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